


From His Seasonal Residence In Ontario, Canada

by kenjideath



Series: Commissions [2]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Identity Issues, Introspection, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Sexting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7225612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenjideath/pseuds/kenjideath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cody Rhodes finally gets to go ice fishing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From His Seasonal Residence In Ontario, Canada

**Author's Note:**

> This work was commissioned by [Sab](http://pigeoness.tumblr.com), who is a sweetheart and doing the world a great service in spreading obscure ship love.
> 
> [This Stardust interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNtsf1PcKMg) will probably be very helpful to your understanding of the story.

V.

Tyler liked staying in Canada. It wasn’t as exotic as some of places he had houses, but it was beautiful, in its own way, and the climate agreed with him. And the coffee at Tim Horton’s was infinitely superior to the swill they served at Starbucks.

The fact that he had been born in Canada was irrelevant, of course.

Currently, Tyler was splayed on the chaise lounge in front the custom fire pit he’d had installed. The house was a veritable mansion with rigorous climate control and central heating, but there was such a thing as romance.

Tyler heard the heavy thump of snow boots from the hall and perked up. Then he quickly lay back down in a careless sprawl, because it never did to look too eager.

Cody strode into Tyler’s line of sight and dumped an armful of wood into the fire pit. “We’re finally in a place where your furry vests make sense, and you won’t go outside,” Cody teased. He was still wearing all his outer gear, heavy coat and scarf and earmuffs and boots that were tracking snow all over Tyler’s floors. Tyler got a fluttery feeling in his chest that was probably annoyance.

“The cold dries out my skin,” Tyler said. Cody chuckled and dropped onto the lounge next to him. He leaned forward for a kiss that made Tyler shiver, the heat of Cody’s mouth contrasting with the pinpricks of cold made by snowflakes that Cody’s face pressed into his. When Cody pulled back, Tyler could feel that his eyelashes and forehead were damp.

Tyler punched Cody in the shoulder. “Go change,” he ordered. “You’re getting me all wet.”

Cody grinned wickedly and before Tyler could react, a handful of snow was thrown in his face. “You big – jerkface!” Tyler screeched, flailing at him, but Cody was too fast. By the time Tyler had cleared his eyes, Cody was already high-tailing to the wing Tyler had set aside for Cody’s clothes.

“You love it!” Cody called back. Tyler couldn’t disagree so he just grumbled and stalked in the opposite direction, to where his own closets were kept.

I.

Cody had considered leaving the WWE for months. He’d looked at it from every angle, talked about it to everyone he trusted, planned and planned and planned some more.

“Are you sure you’re okay with it,” Cody whispered into Tyler’s ear while spooning him in bed, and Tyler said,

“I don’t care what you do in your own career.”

Dolph had sneered at Tyler and talked loudly in the locker room about how it took more than a pretty face to keep a man these days. If it weren’t a shortcut to wrinkles, Tyler would have rolled his eyes. Maybe if Dolph didn’t need to constantly involve his lovers in his own career, he wouldn’t run through them so fast.

Tyler didn’t understand why Cody wanted to leave, really. He’d rather be dead in the WWE than World Heavyweight Champion anywhere else. But Cody was smart, really smart, so Tyler wasn’t going to argue with him.

And.

And Stardust had trouble existing outside the WWE.

So that was better, of course, and probably reason enough.

VI.

Tyler decided on a custom Gucci romper in deep blue with his trademark tassels on the lower legs before he went back to the living room. Cody was already there when Tyler walked back in, reclining in front of a roaring fire. Cody had chosen to dress business casual, what else was new, but Tyler decided to appreciate the way that the pink dress shirt showed off his pecs anyway.

Cody had also taken the opportunity to select a red wine from the cellar. As Tyler approached, Cody offered him a glass, which Tyler accepted. It was delectable, airy and dry. Tyler wasn’t surprised; Cody had exquisite taste.

... In most things. Cody _was_ trying to grow facial hair again, and it wasn’t going any better this time. Tyler had already decided to give Cody another week to come to his senses, and then Tyler was going to shave the patchy beard and struggling mustache off in his sleep.

Tyler settled down in Cody’s lap, letting Cody place his hands on his hips to stabilize him. They kissed, long and sweet, and Tyler appreciated how full and smooth Cody’s lips were, the subtle taste of his lip gloss.

“Did you miss me?” Cody asked.

Tyler sneered. “We were only apart for twenty minutes,” he pointed out.

Cody smiled and brushed a stray piece of hair behind Tyler’s ear. “You missed me,” he teased, and Tyler’s cheeks betrayed him by blushing.

II.

Cody hadn’t missed a match or promo of Tyler’s since he left the company. No matter what, as soon as Tyler came back through Gorilla, he could count on his phone buzzing in his hand with some little text. Like “!!!!! That Beauty Shot!” or “Someone needs to tell that cameraman that there will be consequences if he keeps lagging with your entrance,” or, “You almost sent my brother back to the Attitude Era with that one” and then a string of thumbs up emoji.

Tyler liked it a lot and sent back the best gifts of all, fresh selfies of his own gorgeousness. It was a little strange to have more contact with his boyfriend now than when they worked for the same company, but Tyler didn’t hold it against him. Cody couldn’t watch him when Stardust was around, and Stardust used to be around all the time, prepping for his own matches and ordering his lackeys about. It was nice to be properly appreciated, even if sometimes Tyler missed the little weirdo’s company.

Besides, there were other aspects on a long distance relationship that Tyler was more than ready for.

“How’s this pose?” Tyler asked. He didn’t like having to resort to letting someone else take pictures on him, but when it came to full-body shots, selfies just couldn’t cut it.

Fandango pursed his lips while he examined Tyler’s form. Tyler was sprawled out on the hotel bed, the sheets artistically rumpled as if he’d just gotten the reaming of a lifetime (actually the result of Goldust and R-Truth sneaking in to try and short-sheet their beds, but whatever). Tyler had his arms stretched above his head to show off his muscles and his legs parted, but not splayed. “Be a tease, not a tart,” as Tyler’s mother had been fond of saying, the old insincere bitch.

“It’s definitely an incredible buffet of man that your boy’s going to jerk it to for years,” Fandango confirmed, to Tyler’s pleasure. It really was such a joy to finally have a partner who understood him. “But it could be a little more…” Fandango reached out and tucked Tyler’s soft cock under his thigh, so only the barest hint of pink flesh was showing. “Perfection!” Fandango concluded, raising the camera phone.

Tyler had to agree. “Take a bunch, ‘Dango,” he ordered. “I want options.” Tyler rested his head on the pillow and relaxed his face into his best “come hither” expression.

“You got it, B,” Fandango said, letting the fake shutter click away.

As anticipated, Cody liked the picture. He sent back a lovely angle of his own dick, just started to soften in front of the evidence of Cody’s huge orgasm, staining his thighs and the sheets. Tyler had the picture favorited in his phone; he really was the best at long distance relationships.

III.

Behind the dark of his sleep mask, Tyler said, “Hey, ‘Dango?”

Tyler heard rustling from the other hotel bed. “Yeah, B?” Fandango answered.

“Me and Cody have been getting along a lot better since he left,” Tyler said. It was true; they talk a lot more, and Cody was far more attentive to Tyler’s many important needs. Even their sex life was better over Skype.

Tyler wasn’t surprised that his extraordinary mastery of social media would extend to romance. If he could make all the uggos out there fall in love with him over a tweet, of course his own boyfriend would be all but overwhelmed by his constant attentions.

Distance was supposed to hurt relationships, but that was for other people, without Tyler’s incredible skill and appeal. It all made sense, and Fandango was older and smarter than Tyler. He would agree, definitely.

“’Course you are,” Fandango said. Tyler’s stomach flipped a little, because of how unsurprised he was. “It’s like Thomas Edison said, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’ The farther away from someone you are, the more you love each other. That’s why he invented the telephone. He and his boyfriend Tesla were having a real big fight, and he had to move to Australia to patch things up.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember,” Tyler said, scouring his mind for memories of being bus-schooled between photoshoots for Teen Vogue. Sometimes Tyler wished he’d paid more attention back then, but it wasn’t like any of that had turned out to be important. And it made smart people like Fandango and Cody happy to tell him stuff he didn’t know, which was good for team building. “Because Edison slept with the inventor of the graham cracker.” There, that sounded right-ish.

“Exactly,” Fandango. “Plus, it’s got to be easier for Cody to not have that Stardust guy on his jock all the time.”

Yeah.

“Yeah,” Tyler said.

IV.

Tyler had only talked to Stardust once since Cody asked for his release. Cody was vising him in his seasonal residence in Ontario. Tyler woke up alone in bed and rolled over to see a dark form blotting out the starlight that streamed in through the window.

“Did you know,” Stardust said, “that the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon?”

Tyler blinked the sleep out of his eyes. “No,” he said. “That sounds like a lot.”

Stardust didn’t laugh. “It’s more than mortal minds can comprehend,” he said.

The floor was cold under Tyler’s feet when he stepped off the bed. Stardust didn’t turn around, not even when Tyler hugged him from behind and pressed a cheek against the bare skin of his back.

“Venus doesn’t have seasons,” Stardust said.

“Okay,” Tyler said. Stardust’s chest moved under his arms in a steady rhythm.

“I’m going home,” Stardust said. “Cody doesn’t need me anymore.”

Stupidly, tears started to prickle at the corner of Tyler’s eyes. “Will you ever come back?” Tyler asked.

It was such a clear night. Tyler had never wanted to learn the names of the stars; he was afraid it would make them seem ugly and common. He watched them now, keeping his breathing controlled, the way he’d always been taught.

“Anything can happen in the WWE,” Stardust said, finally.

Tyler said, “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you,” he said. The words felt heavy and foreign in his mouth.

Abruptly, Stardust slumped in his arms and Tyler tightened his grip to keep Cody from hitting the floor.

“Mm,” Cody sighed. His eyes were unfocused as Tyler helped him to his feet. “What are we doing out of bed?”

Tyler brushed Cody’s hair back. His hand was shaking. It was so hard to look away from the window. He didn’t feel like answering Cody’s question “Isn’t it gorgeous out there?” he asked.

Cody blinked at him. He didn’t even glance at the sky. “It’s gorgeous in here for sure,” he said.

Tyler cracked a smile. “So dashing,” he purred, and he let Cody take him back to bed.

VII.

As a general rule, Tyler tried not to think about his feelings. Well, he tried not to think much at all, unless it was in middle of a match. Thinking was supremely useless, an internal life worth less than nothing. The exterior was all that mattered in this world. No one cared what was going on in your head, it was only your body, how it looked, what it could do, that got you ahead.

Maybe that was why Tyler had always been so attracted to Cody. Cody was probably the most internal person he’d ever met.

“You’re quiet,” Cody said. “Thinking hard?”

Tyler turned away from the fire and blinked rapidly to get rid of the shapes burned into his eyes. “No,” he said. “Are you?”

Cody chuckled. “Not really,” he said. “I was just wondering if there was ice-fishing around here.”

Against his will, Tyler remembered that ice-fishing had been Stardust’s idea. Ice-fishing on the Alaskan archipelago, he’d said. Growing a big Daniel Bryan beard.

Tyler cupped Cody’s face in his hands. “Truly,” he said, “you contain multitudes.”

Cody barked out a surprised laugh. “Where’d you hear that?” he asked.

Tyler wrinkled his nose. “I don’t care,” he said. “I think Abraham Lincoln said it.”

Cody’s hand slid down to Tyler’s arm. “Will you go with me?” he asked. “Ice-fishing?”

Images darted through Tyler’s mind. Stardust, soaring home to Mars and flitting between dimensions and resting, waiting, underneath Cody’s skin. Cody’s face, always hidden under paint or a mask or a bag or hair too thin to be dashing. Himself, missing Cody while tagging with Stardust and missing Stardust while texting Cody.

It was dumb, Tyler decided. It was a stupid way to feel, and Tyler was not stupid. He wasn’t dumb enough to miss two people who couldn’t coexist.

It would be much better to love them both, to enjoy the time with them twice as much, knowing the other would always be back.

“Fine,” Tyler said. “But I’m not touching any fish. Or worms. Or the water.”

Cody beamed at him, making his awful facial hair twist in strange ways. Tyler wouldn’t make it a week; it was coming off tonight.

“I love you,” Cody said. His hands felt sure and permanent on Tyler’s body. In two days Cody would be in Japan and Tyler would be in Detroit and the stars would still be there and they would all love each other, as simple and easy as could be.

Now, Tyler said, “I love you, too,” and kissed the boyfriend he had right now, letting the worries slip out of his head like they’d never been there and allowing absence to make his heart grow fonder.


End file.
